FC Rilski Sportist (ФК Рилски спортист Самоков) is a
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
n
football club
A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all- ...
from the town of
Samokov
Samokov ( bg, Самоков ) is a town in Sofia Province in the southwest of Bulgaria. It is situated in a basin between the mountains Rila and Vitosha, 55 kilometres from the capital Sofia. Due to the suitable winter sports conditions, Sam ...
founded in 1947 and currently playing in the
South-West Third League. Their home stadium is
Iskar Stadium Iskar Stadium is a multi-use all-seater stadium in Samokov, Bulgaria named after "Iskar" river.
It is currently used for football matches and is the home ground of PFC Rilski Sportist. The stadium holds 7,000 people. It is located in the southwes ...
.
Throughout the majority of its history, Rilski Sportist has competed in the lower levels of Bulgarian football, usually the second, or third tiers. In
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
, however, the team managed to promote to the
A Group
The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...
for the very first time. Their inexperience led to an immediate relegation.
Three years later, Rilski Sportist returned to the A Group, only to be relegated again. Since then, the club has been competing mostly in the amateur levels of Bulgarian football.
The club’s nickname is the ‘
Skiers
Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...
’, which originates from the fact that the town of Samokov and nearby
Borovets
Borovets ( bg, Боровец ), known as Chamkoria ( ) until the middle of the 20th century, is a popular Bulgarian mountain resort situated in Sofia Province, on the northern slopes of Rila, at an altitude of 1350 m. Borovets is located appr ...
are major resorts for
winter sports
Winter sports or winter activities are competitive sports or non-competitive recreational activities which are played on snow or ice. Most are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally, such games were only played in cold area ...
in Bulgaria.
History
PFC Rilski Sportist was founded in 1947 after the union of a few smaller teams from
Samokov
Samokov ( bg, Самоков ) is a town in Sofia Province in the southwest of Bulgaria. It is situated in a basin between the mountains Rila and Vitosha, 55 kilometres from the capital Sofia. Due to the suitable winter sports conditions, Sam ...
. Throughout much of its history, the team competed in the second or third tiers of Bulgarian football.
In 2002, Sportist achieved its first ever promotion to the Bulgarian elite, then known as
A Group
The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...
, for the
2002–03 season. As expected from a newcomer, Rilski Sportist found it difficult to survive. The team managed to win only one game and finished last, thus being relegated, after just one year among the best.
Three seasons later, the team managed to win the
2005–06 B Group
The 2005–06 B Group was the 51st season of the Bulgarian B Football Group, the second tier of the Bulgarian football league system. The season started on 13 August 2005 and finished on 7 June 2006 with the A Group promotion play-off between the ...
, which enabled them to play in the
A PFG
The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...
for a second time. In their second top-flight season, they won 10 games and earned 30 points. They were the only team which managed to win against
Levski in the league in that season. However, they were still 3 points behind 13th placed
Spartak Varna, meaning that they were relegated again. The two top flight seasons remain their most important achievement overall. Since then, the team has shifted between the second and third tiers of Bulgarian football.
In the second division "The Skiers" have 23 participations – 664 matches in total, with 269 wins, 139 draws and 253 losses. Their best result in the
Bulgarian Cup
The Bulgarian Cup ( bg, Купа на България, Kupa na Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian annual football competition. It is the country's main cup competition and all officially registered Bulgarian football teams take part in it.
The tournament ...
has been reaching the quarter-finals in 1950/51 and 2001/02.
"Rilski Sportist" means "
Rila
Rila ( bg, Рила, ) is the highest mountain range of Bulgaria, the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula and Southeast Europe. It is situated in southwestern Bulgaria and forms part of the Rila–Rhodope Mountains, Rhodope Massif. The highest summit is Mus ...
sportsman" in
Bulgarian
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
.
Crest history
File:Rilskiold01.png, 1947–1960
File:Rilskiold03.png, 1978–1990
File:Rilski-sportist small.png, 1990–present
League positions
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from:01/07/2001 till:01/07/2002 shift:(0,-4) text:1
from:01/07/2001 till:01/07/2002 color:white shift:(0,14) text: "B Group
The Bulgarian Second Professional Football League ( bg, Втора професионална футболна лига, Vtora Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as Second League ( bg, Втора Лига) or Vtora liga, is the second level ...
"
from:01/07/2002 till:01/07/2003 shift:(0,-4) text:14
from:01/07/2002 till:01/07/2003 color:green shift:(0,14) text: "A Group
The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...
"
from:01/07/2003 till:01/07/2004 shift:(0,-4) text:7
from:01/07/2004 till:01/07/2005 shift:(0,-4) text:5
from:01/07/2005 till:01/07/2006 shift:(0,-4) text:1
from:01/07/2003 till:01/07/2006 color:white shift:(0,14) text: "B Group
The Bulgarian Second Professional Football League ( bg, Втора професионална футболна лига, Vtora Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as Second League ( bg, Втора Лига) or Vtora liga, is the second level ...
"
from:01/07/2006 till:01/07/2007 shift:(0,-4) text:14
from:01/07/2006 till:01/07/2007 color:green shift:(0,14) text: "A Group
The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...
"
from:01/07/2007 till:01/07/2008 shift:(0,-4) text:4
from:01/07/2008 till:01/07/2009 shift:(0,-4) text:6
from:01/07/2009 till:01/07/2010 shift:(0,-4) text:14
from:01/07/2009 till:01/07/2010 color:white shift:(0,14) text: "B Group
The Bulgarian Second Professional Football League ( bg, Втора професионална футболна лига, Vtora Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as Second League ( bg, Втора Лига) or Vtora liga, is the second level ...
"
from:01/07/2010 till:01/07/2011 shift:(0,-4) text:1
from:01/07/2010 till:01/07/2011 color:yellow shift:(0,14) text: "Regional
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
"
from:01/07/2011 till:01/07/2012 shift:(0,-4) text:3
from:01/07/2012 till:01/07/2013 shift:(0,-4) text:15
from:01/07/2011 till:01/07/2013 color:red shift:(0,14) text: "V Group
V, or v, is the twenty-second and fifth-to-last letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''vee'' (pronounced ), plural ...
"
from:01/07/2013 till:01/07/2014 shift:(0,-4) text:1
from:01/07/2013 till:01/07/2014 color:yellow shift:(0,14) text: "Regional
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
"
from:01/07/2014 till:01/07/2015 shift:(0,-4) text:14
from:01/07/2015 till:01/07/2016 shift:(0,-4) text:11
from:01/07/2014 till:01/07/2016 color:red shift:(0,14) text: "V Group
V, or v, is the twenty-second and fifth-to-last letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''vee'' (pronounced ), plural ...
"
from:01/07/2016 till:01/07/2017 shift:(0,-4) text:9
from:01/07/2017 till:01/07/2018 shift:(0,-4) text:15
from:01/07/2018 till:01/07/2019 shift:(0,-4) text:8
from:01/07/2019 till:01/07/2020 shift:(0,-4) text:16
from:01/07/2020 till:01/07/2021 shift:(0,-4) text:13
from:01/07/2021 till:01/07/2022 shift:(0,-4) text:10
from:01/07/2022 till:01/07/2023 shift:(0,-4) text:
from:01/07/2016 till:01/07/2023 color:red shift:(0,14) text: " Third League"
Honours
A Group
The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...
(now First League):
* Fourteenth place (2):
2002–03,
2006–07
B Group
The Bulgarian Second Professional Football League ( bg, Втора професионална футболна лига, Vtora Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as Second League ( bg, Втора Лига) or Vtora liga, is the second level ...
(now Second League):
* Winners (2): 2001–02,
2005–06
A Regional – Sofia:
* Winners (2): 2010–11, 2013–14
Bulgarian Cup
The Bulgarian Cup ( bg, Купа на България, Kupa na Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian annual football competition. It is the country's main cup competition and all officially registered Bulgarian football teams take part in it.
The tournament ...
:
* Quarter-final (2):
1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the United ...
,
2001–02
Current squad
''As of 1 August 2020''
Past seasons
Stadium
Iskar stadium is situated in the southwestern part of Samokov near the biggest park of the city – "Gradski". Built in 1972, the stadium has around 7 000 seating places, most of which are covered. The field measures 105x68 meters. The best attendance was on 31.8.2002 in the match with
PFC Levski Sofia
Levski Sofia ( bg, Левски София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which competes in the First League, the top division of the Bulgarian football league system. The club was founded on 24 May 1914 b ...
– 6 800 spectators.
References
External links
bgclubs.eu
{{Third Amateur Football League (Bulgaria)
Rilski Sportist
FC Rilski Sportist (ФК Рилски спортист Самоков) is a Bulgarian football club from the town of Samokov founded in 1947 and currently playing in the South-West Third League. Their home stadium is Iskar Stadium.
Throughou ...
Rilski Sportist
FC Rilski Sportist (ФК Рилски спортист Самоков) is a Bulgarian football club from the town of Samokov founded in 1947 and currently playing in the South-West Third League. Their home stadium is Iskar Stadium.
Throughou ...
Samokov
1947 establishments in Bulgaria